Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
27-1011 Art Directors
Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film. Direct workers engaged in artwork or layout design. Excludes “Set and Exhibit Designers” (27-1027).
National estimates for Art Directors
Industry profile for Art Directors
Geographic profile for Art Directors
National estimates for Art Directors:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Art Directors:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 42,080 |
2.6 % |
$ 55.50 |
$ 115,430 |
1.9 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Art Directors:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 27.51 |
$ 37.26 |
$ 48.51 |
$ 65.07 |
$ 93.33 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 57,220 |
$ 77,490 |
$ 100,890 |
$ 135,350 |
$ 194,130 |
Industry profile for Art Directors:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Art Directors are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Art Directors, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Art Directors:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services |
13,280 |
3.05 |
$ 57.20 |
$ 118,980 |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries |
3,610 |
1.15 |
$ 75.74 |
$ 157,540 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
3,240 |
0.13 |
$ 57.14 |
$ 118,850 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
2,870 |
1.16 |
$ 43.02 |
$ 89,470 |
| Specialized Design Services |
2,660 |
1.96 |
$ 53.63 |
$ 111,550 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Art Directors:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services |
13,280 |
3.05 |
$ 57.20 |
$ 118,980 |
| Specialized Design Services |
2,660 |
1.96 |
$ 53.63 |
$ 111,550 |
| Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers |
2,870 |
1.16 |
$ 43.02 |
$ 89,470 |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries |
3,610 |
1.15 |
$ 75.74 |
$ 157,540 |
| Performing Arts Companies |
610 |
0.88 |
$ 36.86 |
$ 76,660 |
Top paying industries for Art Directors:
Geographic profile for Art Directors:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Art Directors are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Art Directors, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Art Directors:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
8,440 |
0.51 |
1.71 |
$ 69.23 |
$ 144,000 |
| New York |
8,100 |
0.93 |
3.13 |
$ 68.79 |
$ 143,080 |
| Illinois |
2,880 |
0.51 |
1.72 |
$ 55.64 |
$ 115,730 |
| Texas |
2,260 |
0.19 |
0.62 |
$ 41.09 |
$ 85,470 |
| Florida |
1,730 |
0.20 |
0.67 |
$ 39.11 |
$ 81,360 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Art Directors:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York |
8,100 |
0.93 |
3.13 |
$ 68.79 |
$ 143,080 |
| Illinois |
2,880 |
0.51 |
1.72 |
$ 55.64 |
$ 115,730 |
| California |
8,440 |
0.51 |
1.71 |
$ 69.23 |
$ 144,000 |
| District of Columbia |
270 |
0.40 |
1.35 |
$ 53.18 |
$ 110,610 |
| Oregon |
720 |
0.39 |
1.32 |
$ 55.63 |
$ 115,700 |
Top paying states for Art Directors:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
8,440 |
0.51 |
1.71 |
$ 69.23 |
$ 144,000 |
| New York |
8,100 |
0.93 |
3.13 |
$ 68.79 |
$ 143,080 |
| New Jersey |
1,490 |
0.39 |
1.30 |
$ 59.25 |
$ 123,250 |
| Illinois |
2,880 |
0.51 |
1.72 |
$ 55.64 |
$ 115,730 |
| Oregon |
720 |
0.39 |
1.32 |
$ 55.63 |
$ 115,700 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Art Directors:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
8,360 |
0.96 |
3.23 |
$ 69.12 |
$ 143,770 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,150 |
0.90 |
3.01 |
$ 70.21 |
$ 146,040 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
2,640 |
0.62 |
2.09 |
$ 56.89 |
$ 118,340 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,430 |
0.64 |
2.13 |
$ 75.63 |
$ 157,310 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
1,080 |
0.42 |
1.40 |
$ 55.90 |
$ 116,280 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
930 |
0.51 |
1.70 |
$ 53.08 |
$ 110,410 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
900 |
0.35 |
1.16 |
$ 57.74 |
$ 120,110 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
880 |
0.25 |
0.82 |
$ 42.06 |
$ 87,480 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
850 |
0.32 |
1.08 |
$ 48.50 |
$ 100,870 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
740 |
0.30 |
1.01 |
$ 38.68 |
$ 80,460 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Art Directors:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
8,360 |
0.96 |
3.23 |
$ 69.12 |
$ 143,770 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,150 |
0.90 |
3.01 |
$ 70.21 |
$ 146,040 |
| Boulder, CO |
140 |
0.80 |
2.67 |
$ 45.35 |
$ 94,330 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,430 |
0.64 |
2.13 |
$ 75.63 |
$ 157,310 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
2,640 |
0.62 |
2.09 |
$ 56.89 |
$ 118,340 |
| Trenton, NJ |
140 |
0.62 |
2.06 |
$ 57.81 |
$ 120,240 |
| Provo-Orem, UT |
170 |
0.62 |
2.06 |
$ 39.82 |
$ 82,820 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
210 |
0.56 |
1.87 |
$ 50.37 |
$ 104,770 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA |
590 |
0.53 |
1.77 |
$ 55.20 |
$ 114,810 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
930 |
0.51 |
1.70 |
$ 53.08 |
$ 110,410 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Art Directors:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
450 |
0.42 |
1.42 |
$ 78.74 |
$ 163,790 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
1,430 |
0.64 |
2.13 |
$ 75.63 |
$ 157,310 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
5,150 |
0.90 |
3.01 |
$ 70.21 |
$ 146,040 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
8,360 |
0.96 |
3.23 |
$ 69.12 |
$ 143,770 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY |
90 |
0.20 |
0.68 |
$ 60.05 |
$ 124,910 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
30 |
0.16 |
0.53 |
$ 59.71 |
$ 124,200 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
360 |
0.26 |
0.87 |
$ 58.21 |
$ 121,070 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
50 |
0.17 |
0.56 |
$ 58.20 |
$ 121,060 |
| Trenton, NJ |
140 |
0.62 |
2.06 |
$ 57.81 |
$ 120,240 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
900 |
0.35 |
1.16 |
$ 57.74 |
$ 120,110 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Art Directors:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Art Directors:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Art Directors:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
